Fall Sparks7

Car Troubles

The scenery has changed a good bit since the first day of school. The trees were now changing from dark greens to all kinds of reds and oranges, a perfect setting for the school’s annual Fall Break. Only two days into the break, Mako was already left home alone while his brother was on a small trip with a friend and his parents out for a date night. He was walking out his parents’ garage and to his car to run some errands his mother left for him to do while she was away. As he walked out to his waiting car, he could hear an engine struggle to start and harm words being mumbled. He looked over to see his neighbor, and teammate, Korra struggle with getting her car started.

After what seemed to be maximum number of time she tried to start up her beaten up Jeep, Korra slammed her hands on the steering wheel and said some harsh words under her breath. She then tried to start her car again, jumping out after it refused to turn over. The teen was wearing a yellow tank top that was cut open on the sides – showing off her zebra print sports bra – and a pair of black drop waist sweat pants with the ends tucked in a pair of black and pink hip hop shoes. Korra walked over to the front of the car and knelt to the ground to try to look under her car to see if there was any kind of leak. When she couldn’t find anything that might be the reason why her car wasn’t working, Korra pushed herself up and went to start her car again. The engine still refused to turn over, raising Korra’s anger even more and causing her to slam the steering wheel again and stream in frustration. “You stupid piece of junk!” She shouted as she got of her car and kicked the front, driver’s side wheel.

After seeing her kick the wheel for the third time, Mako decided to intervene before his neighbor hurt herself. “You’re going to break your foot if you keep doing that.” He shouted from across their yard, making Korra freeze from pooling her foot back.
Korra whipped her head around, her loose hair swinging around with her. Her frustrated look then melted down to a happy one after seeing that it was her football captain that spoke up. “Mako! Thank god your home!” She said as she practically sprinted across the yard to his driveway. “Can you do me a favor?” She asked him after she stopped on the opposite side of the black SUV’s hood.
Mako raised an eyebrow at her and spun his keys around his finger. “What kind of favor?” He asked as he stared down at her from across his car.
Korra dropped her arms, not happy on having to explain herself. “I have to be at my dance studio in like twenty minutes and, as you can see, my car won’t start. So please give me a ride.”
“Why can’t you borrow one of your parents’ cars?” Mako asked as he continued to look at her with a raised eyebrow.
“Because they’re at work stupid!” Korra shot back as her anger rose.
Mako looked at her, unphased from her outburst as he spun his keys around his finger one more time. “Have fun walking.” Mako said, with what seemed like a small smile on his face, as he walked to the driver’s side door.

Korra instantly switched from anger to panic mode as she scrambled around the front of the car and stepped in between Mako and then door. “Please! I’m sorry for calling you stupid, but I really need a ride! I can’t be late! I’ll get in so much trouble if I’m late!” Korra begged as she starred up at her team captain that towered over her.
Mako shifted his weight on the heels of his feet and crossed his arms. “What’s in it for me?”
Korra’s face dropped. “Who are you, Bolin?” She asked confused about why Mako was bargaining with her like his little brother did.
“Ok then, guess you’re walking.” Mako said as he started to push Korra out of his way.
“No, no, no wait!” Korra shouted as she pushed back. “I’ll clean your cleats for you for the rest of the season!”
Mako raised an eyebrow at her as he crossed his arms again. “No, I don’t get mine as dirty as yours.”
Korra groaned as she tried to think of another deal to throw at him. “I’ll carry your bag for you! You know, take that extra five pounds off your shoulder.” She said, giving him a begging smile.
“It’s actually not as heavy as you think.” Mako shrugged, denying the deal.
Korra started to panic even more once her warning alarm on her phone made the little machine vibrate in her pocket – telling her that if she didn’t leave now, she was going to be late. “I’ll start listening to you!”

The offer made Mako’s ears perk up. “Go on.” He said as he cracked a rare smiled and shifted his weight on his heels again.
Korra instantly regretted the offer, but it was her only way of getting what she wanted. “I’ll start listening to you. That means I won’t talk back, argue, or go against your ideas for the rest of the season. No matter how stupid they are.” Korra said, mumbling the last part to herself as she turned her head away.
“Even at practice?” Mako added, wanting the deal to lean even more in his favor.
Korra narrowed her blue eyes at him. “Yes, even at practice.” She added even though she hated the addition the idea.
Mako smiled down at his neighbor, feeling happy that he finally beat the stubborn girl in front of him. “Ok. Get in.” Mako shrugged as he went to unlock the door.
“Oh my god! Thank you!” Korra smiled as she jumped up and hugged his neck, making the teen freeze for a moment from the surprise hug. She then hopped down and ran to her car to get her dance bag.

Mako stayed planted where he stood for a moment, replaying what just happened in his head. He then shrugged it off after soon noticing that Korra was making her way back to his car and instantly climbed into the driver’s seat while Korra climbed in the passenger seat.

---

Mako pulled into a small parking lot that was in front of a building he noticed before in town, but never really figured out what it was. After small arguments on the way, Korra directed Mako to her Dance studio that was in the center of town, and surprisingly on his way to the store. Korra unblocked her seatbelt and went in between hers and Mako’s seat to grab her dance bag out of the back.
“Really Korra?” Mako snapped as he scooted away from her in his seat.
Korra grabbed her bag and sat back in her seat. “Oh calm down you big baby. I didn’t break anything.” Korra said as she looked at him with a smirk.
Mako sighed and moved back over in his seat. “What time am I picking you up?” He said as he rested his elbow on the door and pinched the bridge of his nose.
“You don’t have to pick me up.” Korra responded as she grabbed her phone out the cup holder and saw that she was actually early.
“How else are you going to get home?” Mako added as he looked at her.
Korra thought for a moment and then slouched in her seat. “Fine. My class is over in an hour give or take.” She said as she opened up the passenger side door.
“Ok, I’ll be back in an hour.” Mako confirmed as he shifted the car from park to reverse.

Korra jumped out of the SUV and thanked Mako again before closing the door. As she walked up to the door, she ran into a girl that was dressed almost like her, but wearing a t-shirt instead. The two greeted each other as they walked in the building.
“So, who was that dropping you off? Your boyfriend?” The girl asked while Korra was signing her name on a check-in list.
“What?!” Korra snapped as she looked at her friend. “No way! That was my neighbor. I had car troubles and asked him if he would drop me off and pick me up.” Korra explained with a light laugh in her throat.
Her friend took in the information with a slight nod. “That stinks. You two would make a cute couple, appearance wise.” The girl said she took the sheet from Korra and signed her name on it.
Korra played the thought in her head for a moment, thinking that she did think Mako was cute, but laughed at the idea of him being her boyfriend. “I don’t think he would last a day as my boyfriend.” She laughed before saying bye and walking to her class.

---

Mako pulled back in the dance studio parking lot – with about ten minutes to spare – to pick up Korra. He was in the middle of a phone conversation with his mother as he turned his car off and stepped out. “No mom, I’m not driving… I just got out of my car, it was starting to get weird just sitting in it.” Mako said as he started from the front door of the studio. “I’m picking up Korra from her dance class… She had car troubles this morning and her parents weren’t home… Why do all of you think it’s strange when I talk to her from time to time, she’s my teammate and neighbor. I couldn’t ignore her this morning when she was screaming and kicking her car.” Mako added as he walked in the building, being greeted by a front desk and a crowd of moms watching a ballet class of what seemed to be six to ten year old girls. “Look mom, I’ll call you back when I get home, ok?” Mako said as he stepped to the side to keep the doorway open. “Just let me know if you need me to get anything else… Ok, love you too. Bye.” Mako ended the phone call with his mother as he walked back over to the welcoming desk.

“Hello, can I help you?” A girl, about Mako’s age, asked as she looked up at him in her seat.
Mako shoved his phone in his jacket pocket and looked down at her. “Um, I’m here to see Korra. Brown hair, dark skin, she’s wearing a yellow tank top.” Mako said as he tried to describe Korra the best he could incase the girl didn’t know her by name.
The receptionist looked up at Mako with a smirk and pointed eyebrow. “I know who Korra is. Her class is in Studio 5. It’s right down that hall, on the left.” She said as she turned in her chair and pointed toward the hallway on the right side of them. “She’s in the middle of class though, so you’ll have to wait in the waiting room right through the door.”
Mako looked at the hallway the girl pointed at and nodded his head. “Ok, thanks.” He said before walking away from the desk and toward the hallway.

“Who was that?” A different receptionist, looking as if she was in her early twenties, asked as she walked out of the back copy room as Mako walked away.
“Don’t know.” The teenage receptionist said as she shrugged her shoulders and went back to her computer. “He said he was here for Korra. I guess he’s her boyfriend or something.”
“I didn’t know Korra was dating. I thought she would’ve gone out with Luka first since they’ve been partners for years.” The older girl said, referring to Korra long-time dance partner as she put some files down on the desk. “But that guy was cute, and really tall.”

Mako walked down the hallway he was directed to, looking at the few competition pictures that were hanging on the wall. He soon came across one of Korra that was taken a few weeks ago that Asami and Bolin made him go to. She was wearing her hair in a tight ponytail, a white halter top that proudly showed off her toned stomach and a neckline that covered half her neck and a matching white skirt that dropped to her ankles and had a mid thigh high slit. Korra was standing next to her dance partner – who was wearing a light grey dress vest and pants along with a white button down shirt and black bow tie – and holding up a first place trophy with him while they also help up their pointer finger with their free hands. Even after seeing her like that in person, Mako still had the same thought after seeing her like that the second time – she looked completely different that she usually did at school or home.

Mako walked in the door he was told to go and entered a small room with three rows of six or seven chairs – only about five of them filled with moms and bored siblings or friends – that all faced a wall that had a small door on one side and a majority of it covered with a window. Mako took a seat in a chair in the back of the room, wanting to stay close to the door he came through. He shoved his hands in his jacket pockets, looking straight ahead at the window and watching what was going on in the studio room on the other side.

Korra seemed to be talking to a group of about eight girls and two guys – some of the girls Mako recognized from the school’s dance team. She then threw her hands up and seemed to say something very enthusiastically before turning on her toes and walking a stereo system that was sitting on a stool in front of a huge mirror that covered one of the walls in the room. After Korra pressed the play button on the machine, Mako could hear a faint bass line begin to play that was soon followed by watch sounded like snapping. Korra walked back to the group and seemed to shout out something before her and the rest of the group started a routine. Mako watched partly because he was bored and a little curious of what the routine looked like. The first half of the routine, he was a little impressed with the dance – after easily figuring out that Korra was the teacher of the class and most likely made it up herself. As the group entered in the second half of the routine, Mako soon felt a little weird watching and decided that it was a good time to check his phone.

The routine soon came to a end and after every finished the count of the dance, a hug smile spread across Korra’s face as she looked at the mirror from over her shoulder. “That was awesome!” She cheered as she threw her hands up and jumped in the air. She then ran over to the stereo to stop the music and pulled her phone off the docking station on it to check for messages. “I swear this day has just been the best. I wasn’t late to class, I got my pay check when I came in, and-.” Korra went on about her good luck that day, but suddenly stopped midsentence when she pulled her head away from her phone and looked through the window into the waiting room, locking eyes with a certain gold eyed teen for a few seconds. She snapped her head away from the window’s direction, dropping her smile and slight panic setting in her mind. “And my luck just turned bad and embarrassing.”

“What are you talking about Korra?” One of the girls asked Korra as she looked at her a little confused.
“Is that Mako in the waiting room?” One of the dance team girls asked nervously as she looked through the window. The rest of the dance team members grouped around her and commented in disbelief as they all looked as well.
“Oh my god! What’s he doing here?” One of the dancers gushed, opening the gates to a flood of suspicions on why Mako was sitting in the waiting room and whether he watched the dance or not.

Korra just nervously walked over to her bag, deciding that answering her schoolmates’ questions was not a good idea. “Um, you guys can go home now. Class is over. Bye.” She shouted out to everyone as she tried to make herself look busy. With that said, Korra’s schoolmates all filed outside in the waiting room – heading straight for Mako to get their questions answered – while everyone else went to grab their belongings and left.

Korra waited in the studio for the room to clear before deciding to actually pack up her bag and walk out. Mako stayed in his seat, happy and a little relieved that his schoolmates finally left. Once Korra stepped out of the studio room, Mako stood up from his seat while she locked the door behind her. “Ok, if you keep your mouth shut, I won’t hit you.” Korra said as she turned and started to walk through the waiting room, avoiding looked at Mako.
“What?” Mako said a little confused.
“Just don’t talk.” Korra snapped as she opened the waiting room door and started to head to the front of the building.

After returning the room key to the front desk, writing her name on the sigh-out sheet, and avoiding some obvious questions about the boy following her, Korra walked out of the building at a quick pace and instantly went to open the back passenger side door. “Did you go grocery shopping?” She asked as she raised an eyebrow at the plastic bags that were packed into the back seat of the car.
“Yeah. Why else was would I be in town?” Mako said as he walked to the driver side door and climbed in.
Korra was a little impressed with the news. “Whoever you marry is going to be happy about that.” She mumbled to herself before throwing her bag in the back floorboard and climbed in the front passenger seat.

---

“How are you best friends with Asami but your car looks like this?” Mako complained as he looked under the hood of Korra’s white Jeep Wrangler.
Korra shrugged her shoulders as she walked out of her garage with two red Gatorades in her hands. “I don’t know. She never really looked at it before. My dad always took it to the shop if he thought something was wrong with it.” She then handed Mako the second Gatorade as she stood next to him and looked at the guts of her car, trying to figure out what could be wrong with it. “I just fill it up and get the oil changed when the lights come on and pay for any damages. Is it really that bad?”

Shortly after the two arrived back at their houses, Mako suggested that he would look at Korra’s Jeep after he unloaded his car, wanting to see if the problem was a simple fix and if he could save her from taking it to the auto shop and spending unnecessary money.

Mako placed the bottle on the ground and looked back at the many problems with his neighbor’s car. He pushed his hair back before taking off his jacket, not wanting to get the sleeves covered in oil or any kind of other dirt. “Well for starters, your battery is corroded. That’s probably why your engine didn’t turn over.” Mako said as he pointed at Korra’s battery, showing her that the blue foam looking stuff around the post of the battery was corrosion. “Also, your belt it worn out and if you don’t change it soon, it might snap while you’re driving.”
“So, I need to take it to the shop?” Korra guessed, trying to understand what he was talking about.
“Of course you need to take it to the shop, but I don’t think driving it would be safe. You might have to get it towed.
“What?!” Korra practically shouted as she looked up at him in a panic. “Towing is expensive! Can’t you just fix this?”
“The belt I could try. But for the battery you’ll have to ask Asami.” Mako shrugged as he looked down at Korra.

Korra groaned in annoyance from Mako’s answer. “But she won’t be back from Panama till the end of the week.” She complained.
“Then I guess ask your dad about it.” Mako shrugged. “Would he mind if I borrowed his tools?”
“Knock yourself out.” Korra snapped, still fuming over the idea of talking to her dad about paying for a new battery.

After a few minutes, and a long talk with her dad, Korra slouched in the front seat of her car and threw her phone in the passenger seat. “What did your dad say?” Mako asked as he worked on changing out the drive belt of her car.
“He said that he’ll pay for the battery then gave me a long talk of keeping up with my car if I don’t want it blowing out on me before I graduate.” Korra responded starting straight at the propped open hood in front of her.
“Well you do need to keep up with it.” Mako responded as he continued to work.
Korra shot up and stood in her seat and through the open frame of her Jeep. “Hey! Shut it! You’re not my dad!”
Mako looked up at her with an unimpressed look. “What happened to our deal?”
“We’re not at a game or practice.” Korra instantly shot back, causing Mako to roll his amber colored eyes at her and go back to work. Korra stayed standing in her seat and thought about the day for a moment. “You know, in a strange way this is kind of nice.”
“What are you talking about?” Mako asked, focusing more on what he was doing than his teammate’s words.
Korra propped an elbow on the frame of her car and rested her cheek on her fist. “I mean, we’re actually talking and hanging out – just the two of us. No serious arguing what so ever. I think this is a first.”
Mako shrugged his shoulders. “We go to the same school, you’re my teammate and neighbor, and best friends with my little brother; it was bound to happen.” He said, brushing off the subject as no big deal.

A little bit of Korra kind of agreed with him, thinking it was no big deal. “Yeah, but it’s still kind of nice.”

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